Can I Copy Content to Use for My Own Website?

There are thousands of websites out in the public domain. So what harm would it do to copy someone’s content to your own website, right? Wrong! Not only is copying content illegal, it can hurt your website’s search rankings drastically. Just like you’ve hired a professional website design Manchester agency to build a stellar website, you need to place original, high-quality content on your website. You can either take the time to write the content or commission a writer or your website design Manchester agency to write your website’s content.

Unless you have sought the original author’s permission, you cannot simply copy someone else’s content. However, you can certainly quote from an article or blog using appropriate citations. Around 20% to 30% of content on the web is copied. However, there are some instances where you may want to quote someone or share a nugget of information from another blog. However, beyond that, if you intend to take the shortcut – simply copy someone else’s website content to your site – Google will penalise your website sooner or later.

This is How Google Treats Scraped Content

Google categorises content scraped (copied) from other sources as poor quality content. And we all know how important quality is to Google. It may or may not penalise your search rankings, but it may omit your page entirely from the search results. So, if all the content on your website is copied from other sources, it’s highly likely that it’s going to generate any traffic.

Your Website Could be Taken Down

Beyond the possibility of becoming invisible in the SERPs and getting sued for copyright infringement, you face the huge risk of your website being taken down. That’s right! If the original author finds out that the content has been copied, they can approach DMCA and raise a takedown request. DMCA will send you a notice asking you to remove the content from your website. If the request is not complied with, DMCA can proceed to remove your website from the web.

Copying Content is Not Worth It

With so many risks to face, it’s not really worth copying content someone else’s content. Either invest the time to write high-quality content for your website or hire someone to do it for you. As your website design agency in Manchester, Blue Whale Media can create high-quality content for you at nominal prices. Get in touch with us today for more information.

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